There's no stopping; right after Bahrain, the battles of the Formula 1 World Championship continued a stone's throw away in Saudi Arabia.
Due to Ramadan, once again, there were Thursday practice sessions, Friday qualifying, and Saturday races scheduled. Despite some initial health issues, Carlos Sainz was able to get into the car, immediately facing significant wind conditions. The latter, along with less-than-ideal track conditions, posed a challenge for the field, with several errors seen in the first quarter of the session: Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen came close to the walls, experiencing tense moments. Meanwhile, at the front, drivers took turns leading the pack, first with Lando Norris on medium tires, followed by Fernando Alonso. Soon, the soft tires came into play, with Max Verstappen taking the lead and maintaining it ahead of Alonso and Sergio Perez until the end of the session.
The action will continue soon, under more relevant conditions for the weekend, now under the floodlights.
